


Where I left my Heart

by Thinking



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 04:28:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15833757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thinking/pseuds/Thinking
Summary: The sky was covered in darkness, hiding the tragedy of Paisilto in darkness. What happened within that year?





	Where I left my Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, Thinking here! Story is cannonverse, coming from a scene with Lotor and Allura in Season 5. Due to insufficient information on the planet, I made up some names. Enjoy!
> 
> Planet: Paisilto  
> Inhabitants: Paix  
> City: Almera

I walked around aimlessly, blue branches twisting and curling all around me, illuminated by the purple leaves. The way how it integrated into the rocks, letting the clear stream trickle down in streams, it was like a piece of art. Displaying such an irresistible charm to the onlookers, drawing the unsuspecting preys into its warm embrace. A faint scent of sweetness filled my lungs with each breath I took, cleansing my very being from inside out. I closed my eyes, letting my mind wander, completely losing my sense of self and integrate into the untainted nature. So this is Paisilto… the planet that I was assigned to watch over for a year, how intriguing… I murmured under my breath.

As the forestation thins out, it slowly revealed the hidden metropolis, Almera. I stood on the hills, staring down solemnly at this pitiful civilisation, like a reaper waiting for the last grain of sand to fall in the hourglass. As I slowly made my way closer to the main entrance, loud noises could be heard coming out of oddly shaped objects. “Stay here until your presence is needed.” I sternly commanded to the towering figures looming behind me, only nodding as a reply. I carefully inched closer, quietly standing behind a corner of the entrance, slowly poking my head out to get a sneak peek. A small group of tall yet thin humanoid creatures could be seen smiling, singing and frolicking about with each other. Their ears were similar to that of Galrans’, no, theirs were smaller and pointier. As they interlocked with each other, two protruding horns glowing blue at the tips could be seen on their forehead, flickering like a firefly. My eyes dilated as I gazed eagerly at the little street show being performed, with all ears to the beats and rhythm, my heart followed suit. Unconsciously, my feet decided to have a mind of its own and tapped along to the tempo.

A few figures turned their attention towards me, as if they sensed a foreign presence lurking about in the shadows. “Is that…”, “What will he do to us?”, whispers started spreading like wildfire as more heads swivelled around to stare at me. The once lively activities quickly ceased to halt, being replaced by gasps and cries. Each and every one of them were seen collapsing down to their knees, creating a stadium wave as each trembled heavier than the next. To think I would be fished out this quickly… Never knew the Paix were this sensitive to their surroundings. The atmosphere quickly turned dark as I revealed myself and marched my way into Almera with my troops, parading the royal purple pigment on the skin I was born with.

Upon reaching the capital city and settling in, meetings were held to start the operation immediately. What you may ask? Mining quintessence of course. With such high demands from father, achieving maximum efficiency was my top priority, thus having an inhabitant by my side would certainly be the best choice. Despite great displeasure expressed by my troops, I brushed it off to the side and found one, the perfect Paix to meet my demands and expectations. “It is my greatest honour to serve you Prince Lotor, son of Emperor Zarkon.” Carl humbly bowed. Despite displaying such an act, hesitance could be seen written all over his grim face. Such a sense of unease was understandable, afterall, the Paix had never engaged in planetarian wars before, let alone attempting to resist against the Emperor himself.

But for their utter complete cooperation, a deal was made. In exchange for their life and freedom, they were to offer their planet’s quintessence. However, such a promise was an obvious lie, why else was I sent here for a year? Pitiful creatures, turning into nothing but a pawn to be used and toyed with by Zarkon. As I overlooked the progress of extraction of quintessence, I kept my distance from Carl, like a lab rat. And yet I still kept close eye, ensuring any potential threat was kept at minimum. But despite that, another part of me was drawn to him. I sought for knowledge, I want to know more about Paisilto, more about Paix and their culture. This thirst for seeking the unknown gnawed on me, strengthening every passing day. Unable to resist such an opportunity, I sent for Carl, this time with a slightly more personal goal set in mind.

“What? Really?” My personal request came as a shock to the Paix , Carl almost lost all composure as his ever grim face lit up, ears twitching and eyes burning with passion, seemingly forgetting everything else. “I am more than delighted to do that Prince Lotor!” Carl chimed, bowing again, but with reverence glistening in his grey eyes. Under his guidance, I had a better understanding of Paisilto, its history, geography, culture and so on. Such lectures would make me stay up late, being so drawn into the Paix, fueling my passion towards it. As time flew by, the once vibrant planet turned dull as life continued being sucked out of it.

Despite having stayed at Almera for months, the view was still very foreign to me. Thus, I donned the custom Paix outfit and used a hologram mask to mask my appearance, slowly fitting into the crowd. Even though the Paix got the short end of the deal, the inhabitants were seemingly rather relaxed, going about with their usual lives. A group of mini Paix came sprinting past, swinging little sticks in their hands, squealing as they poked each other. I observed on the side- lines, unable to discern what they were trying to do. Clearly they were playing pretend, fighting each other with their “weapons”, but where was the appeal in that? No blood was spilt, let alone bones broken. I tilted my head with curiosity, sitting beneath a small tree, staring. “Hey you! Wanna join us and sword fight?” one of the little Paix came leaping towards me, poking me with her “weapon”. Raising my head, I paused before reaching out my blade and enquired, “List the rules.” She stared at my “stick” for a moment, and then bluntly stated, “Nah, your stick ugly. Buh bye!” and waddled the quiznak off!

Being completely lost of words, I slumped back down to the ground in a daze, mouth still hanging wide open. Looking at my blade and then comparing their “weapon”, my brows creased, mine would have been much more effective than theirs. Perhaps it is due to not being aesthetic enough to Paix’s tastes? Looking around, I picked up a similar stick from the ground and tried convincing the group again. This time they accepted me faster than Father dissing me, making me equally taken aback regardless. Despite going against little children, they were surprisingly agile, quick and responsive to my attacks. Although their unrefined sloppy movement are easy to read and predict, one could clearly see that there is a lot of hidden potential within the Paix. I felt refreshed, excited and something else… something different.

After sometime, taller looking Paix came to pick them up, each going their separate ways. As they were one by one “escorted” away, a strange feeling emerged from my heart as I breathed in heavily. Their lopsided smiles, giggles coming out of those crescent shaped mouths, I… My face hardened as I felt something sour build up in me, quickly shifting my gaze back down to the ground to suppress it. These range of emotions were swirling uncontrollably inside of me, making me burst out almost any moment. I hated that. Gritting my teeth, I threw the stick away, slowly making my way back to the lonely cold desk. Playtime was over, it was time to get back to work, the extraction of quintessence.

Despite experiencing those conflicting emotions, I found myself returning to the streets again and again. Either conversing with other Paix or playing with the group of children, letting me escape from the cold unfeeling bars. The atmosphere, the people, their stories, I have never felt such intense emotions before. Paisilto has so much worth to it, so much to fight for. As I sat before my desk, gazing out to where the land meets the sky, my mind drifted and wandered. The planet will die out if the quintessence were continued to be mined out at such a rate, but to stop the operation completely would be certain annihilation.

I grimaced at the potential outcomes of any small slip, hands trembling as flashes of images of bloodied corpses and wasteland filled my mind. After much internal conflict, I bit down my lip, tasting the liquid iron in my mouth as I re- issued my plans. By extracting as much quintessence as what can be replenished, it would minimize the damage inflicted upon the planet. However, the real threat has yet to arrive. I clutched my heart, staring into the night sky, wishing that in time things will get better. Such a childish thought…

Weeks passed at snail’s pace, each day I surrounded myself with the sounds of drilling and digging, away from the eerie silence of my room. And the dreaded day arrived, a messenger came to “escort” me back to the Galra Empire, back to where all the nightmares dwell in, back to where chaos was born, back to his clutches. Clasped tightly between my tiny hands, was a memory chip that held my everything, along with the speech I long prepared to give. As I walked along the never ending hallway, I gathered my thoughts and sighed deeply. The doors slid sideways, revealing where the throne was. And sitting on it was the very man himself, with the pair of glowing purple eyes staring into me. Fear and awe struck deep into me as I stared at the ground, kneeling before him. My heart was beating faster than ever, feeling my blood coursing through my veins. How long since I last saw him? Is that my father, Emperor Zarkon, before me?

“Fa…” No, such occasions were not appropriate. “Emperor Zarkon, I apologize for my actions but Paisilto has great potential in…” I quickly tried regurgitating line for line my speech, in hopes to persuade him. “SILENCE! Prince lotor, you piece of filth with Altean blood!” Zarkon clenched his fist and smashed down at the arm rest, making me flinch back in terror. “I gave you a chance to prove your worth to me, only to return being weaker than ever before. Destroy the planet, it has no use for us anymore, double- cross me and suffer the consequences!”

Destroy… I have heard of this word for as long as I could remember, seen it in action with my own two eyes countless of times. I have heard the shrieks, cries and pleas of the innocents, but never once did I waver or bat an eye. Despite how hard I sought for approval, there was no such thing as family, only a cold Emperor sat upon the thorns. That was the only world I knew and accepted myself to be in, getting rid of any distractions that would hinder me. But something changed when I first saw Paisilto, it showed me a variety of colours that I never knew existed. I resented it, casting it aside, afraid of being bitten. Yet instead, it gave me the one thing I had always longed for, love. I found my own purpose in life, to love not just the world, but myself as well. And for that, my wavering heart ceased, reinforcing my resolve.

“Pardon me Emperor Zarkon, but I strongly suggest otherwise. I was assigned by your grace to overlook the planet and the extraction of quintessence. With the time spent there, I have learnt great deal about the inhabitants there. We can strengthen the Galra Empire with the Paix becoming a powerful ally! They have strong senses and are quick on their feet, most suitable for becoming assassins. So, I implore you to rethink this decision.” Each word spoken loudly and clearly for all to hear, glaring back at the imposing figure, a challenge. I stood firmly to my ground, it was time to protect what was important to me.

Murmurs and discussions could be heard from the Galrans, faces of scorn and disgust could be seen on those snickering faces. Disgusting, how unrefined and deplorable these things were. He stood up from the throne and slowly walked towards me frail figure, pressure still dominating as ever. The room instantly hushed as the rest of the eyes laid upon me, anticipating what would happen next. Bang! A fist swung hard into my stomach, as if being impaled, it was dreadful. Consequently, I coughed out hard as I tried to regain my composure, only to be yanked by the hair to face him. “You are my darkest shame, a stain to the Galra Empire! Get out.” Zarkon growled deeply, his breath was nauseating as I was hurled across the room.

I tried to plead again, but only chocking and gagging sounds could only be heard as I felt my legs being dragged along. My hand desperately reached out to nothing, straining to keep my eyes open as my vision slowly faded into the abyss. After an unknown amount of time had passed, I jolted awake, panting and groaning as I clutched tightly on my abdomen. My body barely managed to muster any strength to stand up and walk. Please… please… please… I repeated again and again as I quickly made my way back home. Feeling that only the worst has yet to come.

As I flied closer towards the city, smoke could be seen engulfing the forest, rising higher and higher into the grey clouds. Upon reaching Almera, all around me was debris scattered all over, scorched black corpses littered across the road I grew to be so familiar with. The stench was unbearable, I curled inwards as I felt my stomach twist itself. A warm putrid feeling rose up the throat, a sour bitter taste filled my mouth. I tried to cover my mouth, but however hard I tried, I stumbled down and barfed out. Beads of sweat came pouring down like a waterfall, drenching my armour.

Near the tree I once sat, a child was seen lying in the arms of her parent, both gone in an instant. A storm of emotions were slowly seeping out, I panted heavily as my eyes darted left and right, searching for any movement. Drips of rain poured down from the indifferent sky, entering and filling my eyes before flowing out and down to my cheeks. A crack could be heard from my voice as sadness, despair, hatred, anger and all other emotions where finally let loose.

Now, here I stand, still clutching tightly to the old chip. What happened after the passing storm was nothing but fragments of broken memories, left to be forgotten. The soft moonlight slipped through the little cracks before bouncing off of a cold hard surface, revealing a sharp glint. I picked it up and gently touched its hilt with my lips, letting the iron fill my breath. It has tasted his blood, leaving mark left for all to see, the debt has yet to be paid in full…


End file.
